Broody Hen Thread!

[lilpeepers]

10 eggs is probably too much for your Silkie, especially if they are large fowl eggs mixed in (the EE's) with Silkie eggs AND two lively hatched chicks.

I would take the 8 eggs, candle them to see how they are progressing, and put those that show development in an incubator if you want them to hatch so mom can get up with the hatched chicks. She sounds as if she is indicating restlessness and stress between the 2 hatched and those still in the shell. Most hens won't stay with the unhatched eggs but after a couple of days will simply move on with the hatched chicks abandoning the eggs....it sounds like she is about to do that.

As to the itching, she may just be preening, or about to molt (the hormones kick in a molt after brooding...Nature's way of cleaning mom up)...or she may have mites/lice as brooding hens are prone to an overgrowth since they are not dust bathing as frequently. Silkies as a breed are prone to overgrowth because of their unique feathering. If she does have mites or lice, you can dust her with permethrin poultry dust. It won't hurt the chicks. Dust her using an old nylon filled with the poultry dust and "powder puff" her under her wings and at her vent generously, and a puff or two on her back. The chicks will pick up dust as they run through her feathers. Lice and mites can drain baby chicks very quickly.

As to future protocol, when my broodies begin to show brooding behavior, I let them sit on "dummy eggs" for a few days to be sure they are indeed contemplating brooding. I then move them into the broody hutch with the dummy eggs at night and let them settle for a day or two. THEN I put in the real eggs I want hatched so there is no risk to my good (and often expensive) eggs being abandoned and no risk of others tromping on them or laying additional eggs and confusing things. I don't like to disturb my hens or precious hatching eggs regularly fishing for eggs out from under them daily. I try to avoid ever having to move a broody and her developing eggs as well as over handling developing eggs. I do all the moving with the dummy eggs (either throw away eggs or golf balls or ping pong balls), and once she is set in the broody hutch, she is set. I check on her daily for food and water (actually morning and evening), which I do put within a step or two from the nest so my very faithful broodies will remember to eat. (They do have to get up to walk to it, but it is within easy sight of the nest...useful for chicks as well.)

Over time I have set up a permanent broody hutch with attached fenced run covered with hawk netting so that my designated broodies are in it 24/7. They live there all the time. I only move out the chicks when they have grown enough to integrate into the main flock after mom has fledged them. (The flock has beak to beak access to see the chicks as they grow, which helps with integration later). I do this because I have a large fowl flock and lots of hawks...my regular broodies are banties who get NO respect from the flock, and are tasty tidbits for the hawks (who tend to leave the larger birds alone)....but this is my set up.

The important thing is to move the hen with dummy eggs and settle her in the broody nursery THEN put in the real eggs. I choose to keep them totally separated as I have never had luck with communal brooding...eggs get kicked around, others lay additional eggs that skews the hatch dates, so I marked, but.it is always the marked ones that seem to get tossed on the fringe as the hen tries to sit on too many....I've just had too many issues with communal brooding so I do designated area only.

My 2 cents
Lady of McCamley

EDITED TO ADD: if it is lice/mites, don't forget to treat the bedding as well...cleaning out the old and thoroughly dusting the area before adding new bedding.

Thank you for this! That is a great plan. I am lucky that I have an broody coop - an extra coop we got for our bachelors but ended up being too small. Next time I will get her all situated before the real eggs go under her. It's been ever trickier because it's winter and I think she can't move around as much because she knows the eggs will get cold. It's her first hatch, so we will learn together! I hope we have a more relaxed and successful hatch next time. So far just the two, but I'm thrilled about those!

 

[lilpeepers]

PD-Riverman's advise is spot on. But also remember that baby chicks come into this world with their own lunch pail in the form of a yoke sack. There should be enough egg yoke remaining in the yoke sack to tide a chick over for 72 hours.

If all of the yoke is not absorbed by the chick and they drag their yoke sack through all the filth in a chicken pen you will be looking at chicks with infected navels and there really is nothing that you can do for that.

I don't know what is going on with your hen that makes her poop in the nest. Any sitting hen worth her salt will set for about 3 days then leave the nest for a little while in order to eat, drink, maybe take a dust bath and of course empty her bowels. You should also see (and smell) the pile of poop that she deposits at this time, it is truly impressive. If you must clean the nest daily it sounds more like another hen or two is roosting in the community nest with your brooding hen and using the natal nest for a latrine. Which bty is another good reason to have single stand-alone nest with a top, then the entire nest can be carefully picked up and moved to a new location, box, nest, eggs, straw, hen and all in the dark of the night without disturbing or alarming the hen.

The "itchiness" sounds like your mother hen is itching to be about the business of brooding chicks, and she may just quit the nest at the most inconvenient time for both you and any un-hatched chicks. I like my hens to be in a cool dark place while they are hatching out their eggs. I find that this helps prevent problems with hens quitting the nest in order to squire around the first chick or two that hatches.

I assume that because it is winter, she needs to poop in the nest. At first she was eating a little and pooping right outside the nest. Then, about 4 days went by - no poop, no food missing. I thought that it was later stage incubation and she was keeping them warm in earnest, so that she was unable to get up to eat. She is a little bird, so I was worried about her health and she gobbled up the food I put in front of her. I have sawdust in her nest, it is easy to scoop up the rolls of poop (one or two a day) and toss them out. As I said in my original post, she has been in a private "maternity ward" coop by herself since about day 7.

 

[lilpeepers]

Thanks for all the helpful advice and replies! I will get some permethrin dust to have on hand, it probably wouldn't hurt to treat her. I use DE but I know that's not effective for a lot of those little mitey bugs. I will check out the viability of those eggs and figure out what to do next...

 

[mymilliefleur]

Hey Lilpeepers. First thing """I""" would advise it to leave her alone----If you are tilting her/ picking her up etc----That Is NOT good for the unhatched eggs. Do not even put food where she can eat and drink while sitting on the nest. She has a staggered hatch---so she is probably dealing with alot-----do I stay on the nest and let the 2 hatched chicks die or do I get off the nest with the 2 already hatched to take care of them and let the unhatched chicks die??? I do not put my hens through that so I remove ALL eggs Every day----even under a new broody hen----Then in a couple days or so---If I want to set her I will put fresh layed--marked eggs under her. I then check her daily and remove any new eggs. Then when the eggs start hatching---all that is good will hatch around the same time. She then can bring them all the nest together and not have to worry about unhatched eggs.

Most of the time when a broody is setting----other hens get in her nest with her or when she gets off the nest to eat---and they lay more eggs in her nest----these need to be removed. To keep this from happening--- a couple days after I set her "I" will move her at night to a private hatching pen---so she is not bothered. Good Luck!

This is what I do too.
You said she appears to be itchy and preening a lot, does she have a place to dust in the maternity ward? Dusting is very important for broodys since sitting in a nest for 3 weeks is the perfect time for mites/lice to take over, not something you want as the mites/lice can then jump onto the chicks.

 

[mymilliefleur]

Do you guys ever use old english game bantams as broodies? We have one pullet, she hasn't even started laying yet, but I had read that they can be a very broody breed. I just don't see how she could, she is so tiny, and not fuzzy like a silkie. Maybe she could cover one or two large fowl eggs? I'm just curious, we obviously aren't there yet, just wondering at your experience!

She is 16 weeks, so I know she will grow a little more.

I had a full size old English game hen that brooded and raised chicks for me for 12 years. She was a fantastic mother, but I unfortunately lost her to a fox last spring.

 

[PD-Riverman]

Do you guys ever use old english game bantams as broodies? We have one pullet, she hasn't even started laying yet, but I had read that they can be a very broody breed. I just don't see how she could, she is so tiny, and not fuzzy like a silkie. Maybe she could cover one or two large fowl eggs? I'm just curious, we obviously aren't there yet, just wondering at your experience!

She is 16 weeks, so I know she will grow a little more.

I had about 25 settings this season with old english game hens alone, They hatched out probably 200+ chicks. All the eggs they hatched were other breeds that I set them with. Now some of these hens set 2 times, a couple set 3 times. Hatching Machines running on Solar Power!! LOL

 

[PD-Riverman]

Appreciate this input! Next time I get a broody I will take all the eggs out from under her straight away. I didn't think of that, and it makes sense. I definitely have not been tilting her or picking her up! I did tap on one egg that was at the edge of her feathers - and it peeped and that was reassuring!

The best thing to do is get in the habit of collecting all eggs daily----even under a hen that is on the nest--then you do not have a hen with alot of staggered eggs-----I Skip No Nest. Then tomorrow if the same hen is still on the nest and acts broody---I still collect any egg that is under her---if I want her to set---I will put a different egg under her(did not have any fake eggs till yesterday) to keep her interested----the next day I repeat----If she stays on the nest/broody I will then place marked fresh layed eggs under----now that I have some fake eggs I too will move her before I put the real eggs under her.

Good Luck!!

 

[A6chickenhome]

I had about 25 settings this season with old english game hens alone, They hatched out probably 200+ chicks. All the eggs they hatched were other breeds that I set them with. Now some of these hens set 2 times, a couple set 3 times. Hatching Machines running on Solar Power!! LOL

Hey PD-Riverman, if you were using those game hens to brood Belguim Malines chicks(they lay large to jumb eggs) how many would put under one of you're hens at a time?

 

[lilpeepers]

The best thing to do is get in the habit of collecting all eggs daily----even under a hen that is on the nest--then you do not have a hen with alot of staggered eggs-----I Skip No Nest. Then tomorrow if the same hen is still on the nest and acts broody---I still collect any egg that is under her---if I want her to set---I will put a different egg under her(did not have any fake eggs till yesterday) to keep her interested----the next day I repeat----If she stays on the nest/broody I will then place marked fresh layed eggs under----now that I have some fake eggs I too will move her before I put the real eggs under her.

Good Luck!!

Thank you! Had a hatch of just the two - so I will definitely follow that plan next time! I have plastic easter eggs from my daughter's collection, or I could sharpie mark a grocery store egg and stick that under her. For some reason, I thought that if I took away her egg, she would stop brooding. I knew there was a little window for eggs to stay viable before they start developing, just never thought of taking the eggs she was sitting on, away, Lol! Appreciate everyone's advice!

 

[lilpeepers]

This is what I do too.
You said she appears to be itchy and preening a lot, does she have a place to dust in the maternity ward? Dusting is very important for broodys since sitting in a nest for 3 weeks is the perfect time for mites/lice to take over, not something you want as the mites/lice can then jump onto the chicks.

Hi! She has stopped itching and digging at her feathers, I think she was vexed by new mommy fatigue. I got some good advice to get the other eggs out from her. I moved away her food bowl and she was up and about in no time, teaching her peeps to eat. So - no more itchiness after that.

However, I am going to get the powder, because I can certainly imagine how mites could attack - she literally did not get up off the nest as far as I could tell (wasn't eating, scooted her butt over the edge to poop) - so she definitely let her hygiene go!